Female Connectors in Social Networks: Catharine Minnich (Died 1843, Pennsylvania)

The thesis of the article is that taking a social network approach to genealogical problems of origin and parentage can, where applicable, result in two noteworthy benefits. The first benefit is that it may more quickly and effectively lead to matrilateral kin by helping to reconstruct a kinship network. The second benefit is that it will lead to a deeper understanding of social circles in which a husband and/or wife participate. This approach turns the usual genealogical practice of unravelling a female’s position in a cluster in relation to her husband on its head—the male’s position in a social network is reconstructed by backtracking one of his significant females (wife, mother, or sister). As background, the article briefly discusses networks, the importance of women as connectors in kinship networks, and cultural practices of kinship, in this case, eighteenth-century Germany/United States. It then presents a case study of Catharine Minnich, a Pennsylvania woman of German descent. In addition to analyzing relations by blood and marriage, it recognizes the important role of baptismal sponsors in aligning a multi-family network.

Intentional Kinship through Caring Relationships, Heritage, and Identity: Adoptive Parents’ Inclusion of Non-Biological and Non-Affinal Relationships on Family Maps

Structural open adoption has been beneficial to adoptees in integrating their birth heritage and identity. Adoptive parents also may sometimes seek out others who are neither related biologically nor through partnership to support their child in developing an integrated sense of identity. To what extent do these intentional kinship relationships become incorporated within the adoptive family network and how do adoptive parents view their role in their child’s life? Qualitative data on family inclusion of non-biological and non-affinal kin are reported from interviews with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual adoptive parents (n = 25 families). Analyses of verbal and visual data from family map drawing interviews indicated that adoptive parents from the different types of families similarly included intentional kin in their conceptualization of their child’s family. Adopted children’s foster carers, family friends, other adoptive families, and other children and adults were specifically included on family maps to facilitate children’s knowledge of different aspects of their birth heritage and adoption story. The implications of open adoption policy therefore move beyond considerations of only birth family contact. In practice, open adoption procedures convey a broad message to families that appear to widen adoptive parents’ conceptualization of kinship.

HSPB7 Protected the Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells From TNF-α Through Chaperone-mediated Autophagy/beta-catenin Pathway

Background Managing healing of impaired bone fracture has long been a subject of concern. Prolonged or uncontrolled inflammation exerts detrimental effects on bone healing. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α is a critical inflammatory factor, whose absence impairs normal bone formation. However, TNF-α exposure for longer duration inhibits bone regeneration. In this study, we aim to find a new therapeutic target for the impaired osteogenesis induced by long exposure of TNF-α.MethodsIn vitro, mRNA microarray analysis was used to identify differentially expressed genes. Cell proliferation assay was used to assess the proliferation of cells. qPCR and Western blotting analysis were applied to detect the expression of target genes and proteins respectively. ALP staining and Alizarin Red staining (ARS) were used to evaluate ALP activity and mineral deposition respectively. Co-immunoprecipitation was used to detect the interaction of proteins. In vivo, a murie tibial fracture model was established, histological evaluation and radiographic analysis was used to confirm bone regeneration in fracture healing. statistical significance between two groups was determined by Student’s t test, one-way ANOVA or Bonferroni’s post-hoc test according to the distribution of the tested population.ResultsIn this study, we show that heat shock protein family B (small) member 7 (HSPB7) mitigates negative impact of long-term TNF-α exposure on bone formation by binding heat shock protein family H (small) member 1 (HSPH1). HSPH1, in turn, inhibits the ATPase of heat shock cognate A8 (HSCA8), one of the key components involved in chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA). Deletion of genes encoding for either HSCA8 or lysosome-associated membrane protein 2A (LAMP2A), another component of CMA, failed to reverse the osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs induced by TNF-α by deleting HSPH1. Moreover, LAMP2A overexpression reverse the impaired osteogenesis induced by TNF-α, and this effect was attenuated by DKK1, a specific Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway inhibitors. Thus, a heat shock protein family network composed by HAPB7, HSPH1 and HSCA8 rescued the impairment of bone healing by TNF-α through the CMA/β-catenin pathway, making it a potential therapeutic agent for bone regeneration in cases of prolonged or severe inflammation in the clinical settings. ConclusionsTaken together, these findings indicate that a heat shock protein family network including HSPB7, HSPH1 and HSCA8 protects the impaired osteogenesis induced by TNF-α via the CMA/β-catenin pathway. And in vivo, HSPB7 overexpression lentiviral particles effectively protects the impaired fracture healing induced by TNF-α in a mouse tibia fracture healing model.

Expanding understanding of family social capital in crowdfunding of migrant entrepreneurial ventures

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the role of the migrant entrepreneur’s social capital and specifically their family social capital in the success of their crowdfunding ventures. Design/methodology/approach This paper develops an exploratory single case study of the Persu Bag started by a Chinese migrant entrepreneur in the USA, which was documented through in-depth interviews, email communication, social media interactions and secondary documents publicly available. This paper draws on crowdfunding and social capital literature to fulfil the purpose and adopt the perspective of the migrant entrepreneur in the study. Findings The study shows that the crowdfunding migrant entrepreneur’s family network contributes with their operand and operant resources from both the country of residence and country of origin. Besides having financial capacity, institutional knowledge and experience from both the host and home countries, the family network in both countries make the crowdfunding immigrant entrepreneur’s families more resourceful, providing additional benefits to the crowdfunding migrant entrepreneurs in the development of the campaign and crowdfunded venture. Originality/value This study broadens the understanding of the ways migrant entrepreneurs can rely on their family social capital for building financial capacity and starting a crowdfunded venture.

Patterns of stress and support in social support networks of in-home hospice cancer family caregivers

Family caregivers of home hospice cancer patients often experience burden and distress, which can be mitigated by perceived social support. However, less attention has been paid to the non-family sources of support within social networks, or to how sources of support may also be sources of stress. We describe support and stress in social networks of hospice family caregivers and identify caregiving characteristics associated with classes identified in our data. We collected demographic and psychosocial self-report data from family caregivers providing in-home hospice care for advanced cancer patients (N = 90). Caregivers also reported perceived support and stress from specific family and non-family relationships. We identified three classes with unique patterns of stress and support within caregivers’ support networks using a latent class analysis. Classes include: (1) high support, low stress across family and non-family network members (“supportive”; 53% of caregivers); (2) high support, high stress across family and non-family network (“ambivalent maximizers”; 26%); and (3) high support, high stress across family network only (“family-focused ambivalent”; 21%). Caregivers in the ambivalent maximizer class reported more burden than caregivers in the supportive class ( p = .024). This is one of the first studies to systematically explore the role of non-family support, as well as how stress and support co-occur within relationships and across networks. As informal support networks of hospice family caregivers are complex and multifaceted, understanding the patterns of support and stress across various network members is essential to offer services to more effectively manage caregiver burden.

Suitable Alliances

Girolamo marries off all five daughters to Friulian nobles—three to feudal lords, two to wealthy city dwellers—thus strengthening the family network of alliances. Alvise and Giovanni become priests, the latter destined to follow his uncle Michele into high church office. Girolamo’s oldest son, Sigismondo, seeks his fortune in service of the Hapsburgs. His first marriage brings him the feud of Spessa, complete with castle, in Gorizia, and a son and heir, Carlo, named after the archduke. A second marriage into a collateral Della Torre line based in imperial territory ties him ever more firmly to the Hapsburgs. Girolamo expands the castle at Villalta, grafting a seigneurial Renaissance country villa onto the medieval fortress, the complex becoming a metaphor for a feudal family that now embraces Venetian republican values. Michele is featured in Paolo Paruta’s Della perfezione della vita politica (1579), a treatise celebrating politics as civil discipline.